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Annabelle shrugged. "I don't think this is going anywhere."
I gave her a quick hug and dashed inside, dodging the boxes that were literally stacked everywhere.
An hour later, I was pulling up to Callan's gate and then to his front door, only to be greeted by Taylor and Maddie, who were jumping around like excited kangaroos. "Hey girls," I called, getting out of the car.
"Ape-will!" Maddie called, stopping her jumping to charge down the steps and hurl herself at my legs. When I’d recovered my balance, I had to snuff out the urge to cry just because a little girl was hugging me, and I accepted a less aggressive hug from Taylor, who looked up with big blue eyes and said shyly, "Hi."
"Are you guys impressed with the decorations? Didn't your uncle do a good job?" We climbed the steps together to go inside. The door was standing open and Callan was just inside, watching us come in with dark gleaming eyes. For a heartbeat, I forgot about everything else in the world, caught up in those devilish eyes and reminded of how it had felt to be as close to him as it was possible to be.
"Hey," he mouthed, kissing my cheek as the girls went on excitedly about the decorations. They each wanted to show me their favorites, so the next ten minutes were spent dashing from room to room, being tugged along by eager little hands as the girls changed their minds multiple times about which decorations they liked best. Finally, we all sat down around the newly installed kitchen table and had a snack.
"So," Callan said, his cheeks slightly pink under the scruff of his beard and his eyes dropping when they met mine.
He was shy all of a sudden? The warm ball of happiness in my stomach expanded and seeped into my limbs. I felt languid and warm, safe and… happy. "So," I said back, catching his gaze and holding it. Unspoken words flung between us, unobserved by the little girls absorbed in chocolate milk and goldfish crackers. Words about what we’d done the night before, about waking up together. Words about the holidays and time spent together, and especially about sleighs.
"So Cormac will be here in a bit, and then I thought we'd head over to the Straddler."
"I can do the straddles!" Taylor was suddenly on the floor, halfway under the table, demonstrating a very impressive straddle.
"Wow," I said appreciatively.
"Me too!" Not to be outdone, Maddie joined her sister on the floor, but once she was down there, she became distracted by my shoes and forgot to show off. "These has high heels," she commented, petting my boots.
"They do," I agreed. "The Straddler?" I asked Callan.
"Girls, get up please. Finish eating before your dad gets here." The girls clambered back up and Callan gave his attention back to me. "The bar at the distillery. I guess it straddles county lines."
"Oh right, yeah, someone said something about that."
"You up for it?"
"Definitely," I said. I was up for anything that kept me within a foot of the solid warm wall of muscle that was Callan Whitewood. "Hey," I said slowly. "Can I ask you a question?"
He lifted a shoulder and gave me his attention. I forced my warm ball of happiness to stop overheating at the gleam in those wicked eyes of his and concentrated on helping Annabelle. "So, in all those little buildings out back there, do you have any that might be used for storage?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, a couple of them are empty. One smells like pigs though—used to be some kind of pig coop."
"I don't think pigs are kept in a coop," I said.
"Yeah, Uncle Callan," Maddie agreed, vehemently.
"Pig house?" Callan tried.
"Nope," Taylor said.
"Well, whatever it was, it smells piggy and gross," Callan went on.
"Pen," I suggested.
"Right!" Taylor agreed, grinning at me as she lined her goldfish up on her plate. Just as she put the last one into line, a pudgy hand shot out and grabbed one, and the straggling goldfish had disappeared into Maddie's mouth before Taylor could say a word.
"Maddie," Callan scolded, but it was too late. Taylor was already becoming hysterical.
"She ate my fish! He was in line and she…" whatever else Taylor was saying was impossible to decipher amid the tears and high-pitched warbling that accompanied it.
"Here," Callan said, taking a goldfish from Maddie's plate and replacing it in Taylor's line. "Okay?"
Taylor stopped shrieking and eyed the new goldfish skeptically. "Okay," she sniffled, but she set this fish just a little apart from all the others. Clearly, he was the stepchild of this goldfish family and would have to earn his place.
